The present invention relates generally to road or pavement sweeping machines and, more particularly, to such machines having debris-intake hoods of the type designed to pickup or remove dust, particulates, and other debris from a road or pavement surface.
Various types of vehicles have been developed to sweep or vacuum debris from pavements, roadways, and streets. In general, these vehicles use a motor-driven fan to create a high-velocity air flow to effectively vacuum or aspirate the debris from the pavement or street surface. In a typical recirculating air-flow system, a motor-driven fan develops a high-volume, high-velocity air-flow through a debris-intake hood that is mounted closely adjacent the pavement surface. As the high-velocity air flow moves from an air-inflow portion of the debris-intake hood to an air-outflow portion, debris is aspirated by or entrained into the air flow. The debris-carrying air flow is then carried by ducting into and through a debris-collecting hopper or container. A gutter broom is often mounted adjacent to one or both lateral sides of the debris-intake hood to brush debris into the path of the debris-intake hood, and, additionally, a laterally extending cylindrical brush roll can be used to further dislodge debris from the surface being swept.
It is oftentimes desirable not to collect debris from the road or pavement surface but to blow the debris off the surface; for example, when cleaning an airport runway or waterfront pier of new-fallen snow, it may be more convenient to merely blow the snow onto ground surfaces adjacent the runway or into the water surrounding the pier.